Bondo, a secret female society that demands the cutting of the female genital organ is widely practiced in Sierra Leone, West Africa even though it has been criticized by many human rights activists describing it as cruel act.
In March 2023, a 2-years old toddler was found dead in a female Secret Society Bush (bondo bush) and also in January 2024, three girls aged 12,13 and 17 died in sierra Leone due to complications allegedly associated with the cutting of parts of their genitals. These are just the reported one as most people are afraid of reporting such incident due to fair of the traditional authority coming after them or the law enforcement bodies not taking such matters seriously.
The incident which occurred on 13th August 2024 has sent tongues wagging as to how a certain section of society could be so cruel to their children which has placed the life of SittaIsha Kamara and Children at risk for refusing to produce her two daughters to the traditional authorities to undergo the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
Sources close to this medium state that, a group of female traditional leaders headed including her grandmother visited the resident of Mrs.SittaIsha Kamara and requesting that it is time for her to hand her daughters to the initiators as tradition demands and that the tradition must be respected. They evenvowed to initiate them at all cost because it is a right of passge which Sitta Kamara too did undergo. A relative staying with Madam Sittaconfirm to this medium that, MadamSitta was not at home, she was out of the country with her kids on a personal trip when the traditional authority came to her house. “They asked me ifi know their whereabouts but I told them no”. and they started making lots of threat about them joining the kids at all cost. Then they started making some calls but I think they are unable to reach her.
Female Genital Mutilation is a rite of passage for young girls before they could reach maturity stage which SittaIsha Kamara doesn’t want her children to undergo and has defied the traditional authority by describing the act as inhuman and may lead to her children losing their lives.
Successive governments have always remained silent over the act, describing it as a sensitive issue this thus, leaving the practice widely carried out across the country. This move has placed the life of SittaIsha Kamara and her children in danger with the law enforcement bodies doing little or nothing to prevent the ugly development.
Reports gathered by this medium indicates that, SittaIsha Kamara hailed from a traditional family whose belief for tradition is second to none and she is the latest woman who had received threat of FGM for her daughters to be circumcised and by the traditional authority visiting her home. So staying on the unknown whereabouts is the only option she chooses to save her children from this practice where young girls sometimes lose their lives in the bush during the cutting of the genital.
This medium also gathered that the practice also demands blood from the initiates which is normally used as a sacrifice by the ‘SOWEIS’, traditionally haggard looking old women who carry out the act and the home of SittaIsha Kamara has been visited more than one time by these women with threats made to her relative to either reveal her whereabouts or be ready to face the consequences.
The worst thing is that there has been no national law that condemns or enacted acted against FGM practices in Sierra Leone and therefore, those who perform this act always go free if arrested by the police and other law enforcement agencies because these authorities are also part of the society and would dare not prosecute these culprits.
Many a time young girl in this part of the world face the risk of being initiated to satisfy society’s demand or as a requirement for inheritance. Being born in the northern part of the country, especially from a highly traditionalistic family whose belief for tradition is second to none, belief exposes her more to the risk of her children being initiated.
SittaIsha Kamara’s case is of special concern to the initiators because she is the eldest daughter of the family and to fulfill the traditional rights, her daughters need to undergo the ‘Bondo’ rites secret society which according to information many of her colleagues had gone through with terrible reflections.
Her grandmother was one of the strongest advocates for the ‘Bondo’ Society and she held a very senior position this has even made the situation more serious for Sitta and her children. So since the disappearance of Sitta, the ‘SOWEIS’ have been searching for her with lots of threat.
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